Do you have the Harbor Freight 15KW PTO Generator? What do you think?

[Code54]

From my limited understanding brushless motors are normally more efficient but more complex due to the control systems. They are normally cooler running (no brushes) but you also can not replace the brushes to extend the life of the motor. Brushless also has a very flat Torque/speed curve which is sometime an advantage in some applications.

[bigdeano]

Nothing wrong with brushes. The alternator in your car probably has brushes, I know mine does. An alternator with brushes has the potential to have a higher surge rating. they can use a transformer in the output to feed extra juice to the rotating field to give the output a boost when starting a motor etc. Just depends on the design whether they have that or not though.

[Soundguy]

slip rings anyway..

[murky]

OK, so what's the verdict? Did it arrive? How did it do with the little BX tractor?

I'm seriously considering getting one of these for my 14.5 PTO horsepower Kubota. I took back a 7KW gas generator to Costco because I realized I didn't want to have to maintain a gas engine for occasional use and it was going to be a pain to store.

The diesel tractor will get used more and maintained anyway. If I get a bigger tractor in the future I'll be able to take better advantage of the generator.

[dex3361]

I hooked it up to the BX1500 and run it for about an hour. I did not hook up any power monitoring equipment yet. I ran about 2000 watts of lighting and also turned on the drill press, belt sander and grinder. It stayed rock solid on 60 HZ and didn't really load the BX1500. I tried to start the Shop compressor but that was really asking to much(240V 5HP 23A full load current). To truly evaluate what it will run I need to hook up a power meter and put measured loads on it. I have quick hitches on both the BX1500 and the L4400 and that leaves a PTO shaft issue. The shaft that came with the generator is just right for the BX but to short for the L4400. I have a PTO shaft on order from Agri supply.

[Victory Pete]

I have been comtemplating getting a 3PH generator since last years Irene event. At what RPM do you have to run your PTO do produce the rated voltage. I was afraid I would have to run my 2320 at high RPMs even if I wasnt using a lot of power. I was thinking maybe I should just get a small gas unit instead.
Thanks for any help,
VP

[dex3361]

The BX1500 is not equipped with a tach so I really do not know the RPM of the engine but the PTO was turning 540RPM so the engine was likely running close to 3200 to 3600RPM. I used the frequency meter of the generator to set the engine speed. I will use a strobe tach and check the engine speed the next time it is hooked up.

[Victory Pete]

The BX1500 is not equipped with a tach so I really do not know the RPM of the engine but the PTO was turning 540RPM so the engine was likely running close to 3200 to 3600RPM. I used the frequency meter of the generator to set the engine speed. I will use a strobe tach and check the engine speed the next time it is hooked up.

Thanks, I would hate to get one of these only to find out I am wasting fuel and engine wear just to use 1KW or so.

VP

[Soundguy]

yep.. she'll have to turn rated engine speed for rated pto speed for freq to be correct

[dex3361]

It doesn't hurt the engine to run at PTO speed. They are designed to run this way. It will purr away and last for thousands of hours. Over the course of 20 years I would likely only put 200- 300 hours on a PTO generator and tractor. If I have the generator on the L4400 the engine speed of the tractor will be around 2300RPM. I also have a little air cooled diesel generator 6.5KW that is used now and I will continue to use it sometimes.